Geography of Mashhad
Mashhad, or Meshed, Iran, the capital of Khorasan province. It lies near the Turkmen and Afghan borders and is the trade and transportation center for a productive agricultural valley. Food processing and the making of handicrafts, including fine carpets, are important industries. Ferdowsi University is here. Mashhad is a Shiite holy city with shrines visited by several million Muslim pilgrims each year. Mashhad is an ancient settlement that grew mainly after becoming a pilgrimage center in the ninth century A.D.
Population: 1,759,155.